Firing (and misfiring) the cannon

Making noise without much result is something I do for a living, so firing a blank charge out of
the Statehouse cannon today was not a significant departure.

I had the honor of pulling the string on the cannon that stands near the corner of State
and High streets as part of the annual Civil War Encampment at the Statehouse.

The 1st Ohio Light Artillery, Battery A Civil War re-enacting group assisted me. It was a little
bit like taking a golf lesson.

Once the gunpowder charge (enclosed in an aluminum foil packet) was loaded and some other
details attended to, I was handed a spool of string and told to swing my right arm and hip in a
pendulum motion. Yanking on the string jerks a little doodad out of the cannon, creating a spark
that ignites the gunpowder.

The first time I did it wrong. Nothing happened. Fortunately, no Confederate re-enactors were
threatening to overrun our position, so I had time to try again. This time, a Union officer stood
behind me, and we both pulled the string. Kaboom.

I was wearing earplugs and so came away unscathed. A cannon shot actually sounds louder a block
away at the The Dispatch than it does standing next to it.

The encampment has lots of interesting stuff: artillery displays, soldiers drilling, an Abe
Lincoln impersonator and toys of the period that kids can try. It runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today
and Saturday. See details at Ohiostatehouse.org.